Moving gas meter from one kitchen cupboard to another

I've had a kitchen designed by MFI and paid the deposit. When the kitchen fitter came around he said it was impossible to fit the dishwasher where it was in the plans since the gas pipe come up out of the floor about 10 cm away from the wall.

The only other way to fit everything in would be to put the dishwasher where the sink is currently fitted (with a plain cupboard fitted around the gas pipes).

The problem is that the cupboard under the sinks currently has the gas meter in it (with some flexible pipe connecting to the steel gas pipe coming up from the floor). The meter would need to be moved so that it was next to the gas pipe.

Also, the mains water comes up out of the floor directly under the sink. These pipes have a stop valves that stick too far into the room (so the dishwasher would fit). The fitter suggested that the valves could be turned into the wall, and new valves fitted in the cupboard where the gas meter would be moved to.

He suggested that a CORGI registered central heating engineer could do this work, including re-locating the gas meter. Is this correct, or would I need to pay lots of money to British Gas? Also, can the valves on the main water be turned into the wall (as he suggests) without first turning off the mains water (we live in a large block of flats, I have no idea how we would do this).

Another case of the salesman not knowing his job by the sounds of it. Should this problem not have been noticed at survey time? Might be worth asking MFI to pay for the moving of the meter. Unless, of course, you did the survey yourself and just gave the plans to MFI to design.

As the gas meter, governor and associated pipework to the emergency control valve are owned by the transporter of the gas (not the people you buy it from) then they are the only people who can resite the meter. Any CORGI doing the work would be a very silly boy IMHO! Then there's the small matter of earth bonding!

You really ought to find out where your primary (external) stopcock is as you may need it in a hurry one day when the internal one won't turn off.

If it's a simple case of moving the gas meter to the otherside of the incoming gas main (within reach of the existing anaconda) then a normal RGI could just swing it round and connect your copper back up again.

If it is a physical move further than this you will need NG in. Probably around £400-£500.

Thanks for the help. I assume by anaconda you guys are referring to the flexible pipe between the (steel) gas pipe and the meter. In this case the meter would be moved closer to the pipe (not further away). The only solid pipe is the copper pipe coming out of the meter into the central heating. Again, moving the meter would make things simpler here, since the new location is directly underneath the combi-boiler.

In term's of the water pipes, how would I find out where the external stop-cock was? (sorry if this is a dumb question, this is the first property I've bought). The flat is a third floor flat in a six storey block.